Lex Sando
Background While Lex Sando was born on Balmorra in the Colonies region in space, his family had a long proud history on the world of Naboo. His ancestors were noblemen from the city of Theed, their recorded history going back as far as the city’s founding under King Jafan. It was even rumoured that the family history went back as far as the first Human big game hunters who came to the planet four millennia ago. While the records of this long history have been lost, the Sando family would claim that they had been on the planet from the beginning of its Human history and that the Sando aqua monster, the largest creature in Naboo’s seas was named for the family. Even though there is no proof to support this claim the family’s long connexion with Naboo led to popular acceptance of the idea that either the creature was named after the family or the family was named after the creature. The people of Naboo were generally peaceful, but with that setting the Sando family stood out as belligerent. The family first became truly significant in the planet’s history when Gungan-Naboo War broke out in 150 BBY. Lex’s great-grandfather Liam Sando was on of the first Naboo officers in the conflict, starting out as a young junior officer when the conflict began. By the time the conflict ended in 121 BBY, Liam had risen to become flag officer and had spent over half of his life fighting the Gungans. This began the true military history of the Sando clan as well as planting the seeds of bitter hatred that the family has towards non-Humans. Though Liam Sando had become significant to Naboo, the war had made him into a man out of step with the culture of the world. Liam himself lived out his remaining days in Theed, and his eldest son eventually led the main branch of the family into areas of Naboo society where they could thrive, many of his descendents having careers of importance in politics and the Royal Naboo Security Forces, the sort of people who would thrive in the Era of Palpatine. Liam’s youngest son, Don Sando, could not contain the violent instincts instilled in him by his father and would moved to the planet Balmorra. Don would become involved in the Balmorran Arms corporation and continue the family’s military tradition by helping to make bigger and better weapons of destruction. Working at Balmorran Arms would become a family tradition with the Sando’s, in addition to his great-grandfather Don, his grandfather who was also named Lex Sando worked for the company, and his father Joh Sando had just begun to work as a military engineer at the corporate when his son was born in 60 BBY. For the younger Lex Sando, the experiences of his family set him firmly on the path towards bigotry and violence from an early age, but events in the galaxy sent him on his on unique career path. As a boy the younger Lex spent a lot of time with his grandfather who has recently retired, as his own father and mother were busy with work. This meant that elder Lex’s values would deeply instilled in his grandson, with the younger Lex taking pride in his family’s accomplishments and history on Naboo and he hoped that in his own life to be able to live up to the example of his great-great-grandfather Liam. The lack of attention from his parent’s also served to present young Lex with questions as to the worth of women, as he had know real positive female influences in his life. Young Lex was not without some aspects of a more normal childhood. Lex was a huge fan of the Corellian Dreadnaughts smashball team and at the Fifth Galactic Games, Lex rooted for Team Coruscant in limmie. When he was eight, Lex and his family took a vacation to Naboo to visit relatives, and it was then that Lex first met Palpatine who had just been elected to the Senate. While their meeting was brief, a chance introduction at a small family gathering, it would have a profound impact on Lex later in life. Lex Sando’s career as a naval officer initially began during the Stark Hyperspace War in 44 BBY. The brash young sixteen year old was eager to live up to the example of his great-great-grandfather Liam, and joined Governor Ranulph Tarkin’s paramilitary force. This association would only serve to further reinforce the Humanocentric view points that Lex was raised with. Lex would come to despise not only the Gungan’s of his family’s old home or the Colicoids, Hutts, and Twi’leks of his own homeworld, at this point he began to find amongst his new comrades a deep seeded hatred for all aliens which he shared himself. Surviving the all five battles of Qotile, Lex Sando became a battle hardened veteran, who began to hold life itself in little regard after all the carnage he saw. In the aftermath Sando became active in the Stark Veteran Assembly, and truly saw himself as veteran Republic soldier, in spite of the paramilitary nature of the force he had belonged to. After recovering from his wounds both physical and psychological from the Stark Hyperspace War, Lex Sando entered the Raithal Academy in 42 BBY the same year as Gilad Pellaeon. Given his prior military experience, Lex was able to pass to graduate with easy and was immediately made a Lieutenant within the Republic’s Judicial Department. His initial career in the Judicial Department was not of particular note, and Sando generally found himself on the Outer Rim. As a Commander in 28 BBY he was in the Core, working on Corellia, trying to halt a rise in the amount of spice making it to the planet. This put Sando at odds with the Colicoids who had taken over spice processing on Nar Shaddaa, and begun a mutual animosity between Sando and the Colicoids that far eclipsed any hatred he had for any other species in the galaxy. The fact that his own homeworld, Balmorra, had a significant Colicoid population, made his relationship with his home awkward. Lex would have a falling out with his father at this point, a rift which would never be healed. By 26 BBY Captain Lex Sando would be commanding a ship patrolling near Euceron during the Galactic Games. Captain Sando’s career began to take once the Separatist Crisis began in 24 BBY, an ardent opponent of rebellion; he heavily favoured any and all military action that could be taken against the Confederacy of Independent Systems. With the Clone Wars beginning in 22 BBY, Sando finally began to see significant military action for the first time in 22 years, while not the most skilled tactician in the galaxy, his tenacity served him well in battle. When his own homeworld seceded in 21 BBY, now Commodore Sando took this reality quite hard. Hurt by the betrayal of his homeworld, he lost his appreciation for personal attachments, save his loyalty to Supreme Chancellor Palpatine and the ideals he believed he was fighting for. Lex Sando was a huge believer in the values of Palpatine and personal fan of the man himself, when the Republic was restructured into the Empire, Sando’s loyalty to the new regime was strengthened. For his service during the Clone Wars, and his continued loyalty, the Republic Commodore became an Imperial Rear Admiral in 19 BBY. His first act as an Imperial officer was to return to Balmorra where he personally executed his father for crimes against the Empire, punishing him for having supported the Confederacy. In 10 BBY, Sando was promoted to Vice Admiral and served on the staff of Wilhuff Tarkin, cousin to the man Sando had served under in the Stark Hyperspace War, 34 years prior. Sando found this time in his career to be very rewarding as he was able to work closely with officers who shared his own values and devotion to the New Order. By the next year Sando’s political connexions advanced to the point where he was inducted into the Order of the Canted Circle. The outbreak of the Galactic Civil War in 2 BBY met more opportunities for veteran officer, with Sando being promoted to full Admiral and given command of Task Force Viper. In the next several years Sando’s reputation would grow considerably with Task Force Viper succeeding greatly in combating the growing rebellion. Shortly before the Emperor’s death in 4 ABY, Sando was promoted to Fleet Admiral Task Force Viper was upgraded to being Strike Force Viper. After the death of the Emperor at Endor, Fleet Admiral Lex Sando largely stayed out of the politics that engrossed other Imperial leaders, with his flag ship the Aqua Monster he continued to prosecute the war, refusing to acknowledge the enemy as anything more than rebels. He would attach himself to whatever political leadership that would allow him to continue his fight with the least restrictions. Life continue on much has had for years until a visit to Tatooine in 9 ABY. While conducting a recruit effort on the back water world, Lex managed to run into a group of Colicoid terrorists and was gravely injured in a bombing. While Lex had not suffered serious wounds since the Stark Hyperspace War, the attack by the Colicoids blew off his left leg. A man of odd predilections, he opted for a prosthetic leg to be from a bone of a local Krayt Dragon rather than anything more functional. This trademark feature serves to both highlight his brutal nature and his questionable sanity. After the attack Lex decided it was finally time to retire, and he moved back to Balmorra, settling in the capital city Bin Prime to live a quiet existence while he invested his pension into banking and real estate interests in the city of Sobrik. The once mighty Fleet Admiral was content to live the rest of his life quietly, though he would remark to friends like Terrinald Screed that he wished he had the opportunity to take a fleet to wipe out the Colicoid homeworld of Colla IV. Lex Sando faded into obscurity with many thinking he had died until 18 ABY when the Emperor recalled him to service after Balmorra was infected by a significant protest movement. Given back his old flag ship, the Aqua Monster, Fleet Admiral Sando made quick work of the protesters, by bombing their stronghold in Sobrik to doesn’t, and consequently destroying his own retirement fund. When the truth of this attack spread out Imperial space, Sando earned the moniker “Butcher of Balmorra” for his killing of so many civilians. Now in command of Strike Force Viper again, Sando has participated in the Battle of Chazwa and the Battle of Nak Shimor, engaging in the same brutal tactics that once made him a rising star in the Empire. So long as he has a fleet to command, carnage promises to be on the menu for Fleet Admiral Lex Sando.